Hamilton loves its annual Greek Fest, but unfortunately, it only happens one weekend a year.
Luckily for residents, Opa Greek Restaurant is now here all year round.
Opa Greek Restaurant combines traditional Greek food with classic and fresh pizza into one new and exciting dining experience.
The restaurant offers a variety of authentic Greek dishes, from cold appetizers like dolmades to Greek chicken soup, Greek salad with pita bread, gyros, gyro platters and desserts such as baklava and walnut cake. Also on the menu are classics including moussaka, spanikopita and hummus.
Chef George Vasilarakis, a Greek native and the owner of Opa Greek Restaurant, has spent most of his life as a chef. Over the last 40 years, he has worked in restaurants throughout New Jersey. In 1989, he opened what he says was the first Greek restaurant in Central Jersey: Giorgio’s Gyros and Souvlaki.
Today, he and his wife Despoina and their sons, Niko and Elias, run Opa Greek Restaurant, their family owned business. Their lives have been a whirlwind since they first opened for business on July 5.
As proprietor of the only Greek restaurant in Hamilton, the Vasilarakis family works hard to serve the community and give them a taste of Greek cuisine.
“We want to give the surrounding area a restaurant that’s reliable,” George Vasilarakis said. “We want to be the best. We want to serve the customers as fast as possible, we want to provide them great food at a reasonable price.”
Vasilirakis, who has lived in Hamilton for over 40 years, says he is proud to be able to do what he loves for his community.
“Right now we have an opportunity to serve Hamilton and its surrounding areas with my Greek food and we’re gonna be a place [people] can count on for great food and good hospitality,” Vasilarakis said. “I know everyone in Hamilton loves the Greek Festival, so when we don’t have the festival, I’ll bring the festival to you.”
The meaning of the restaurant’s name is personal to Vasilarakis.
“Opa in the Greek language is like saying ‘Hurray!’ Opa is me: I like music, I like playing instruments, I’m one of those guys who says, ‘Hey look who it is!’ [to returning customers],” he said.
Vasilarakis has had the domain name for Opa Greek Restaurant’s website for the last decade, and has been waiting for the right time to start his dream restaurant.
“We’ve only been here for a few months, but we’re making new friends every day,” he said, adding that many Greek people from the area have already visited the restaurant.
Opa Greek Restaurant is located in Deerpath Pavilion, in the former location of Pi Pita Pizza. Members of the Vasilarakis family worked hard renovating the restaurant, and because the pizza ovens from Pi Pita Pizza remained, they have opted to keep pizza on the menu.
Opa serves a traditional tomato pie and a New York style pie ($20), but can make other styles of pizza upon request. The restaurant also serves Greek imported lemonade.
Vasilarakis enjoys being a part of the Deerpath Pavilion, at the corner of Klockner Road and U.S. 130, noting how accessible and peaceful it is.
Opa Greek Restaurant has some indoor and outdoor seating, including an open kitchen at the rear of the establishment where chefs can look out at the diners and see what’s going on, which Vasilarakis said he enjoys.
“I like to see who’s coming, who’s going. I [get to] see people’s reactions to the food,” he said.
Vasilarakis prides his establishment on only using fresh ingredients and always remaining clean.
Opa Greek Restaurant also offers catering services that are available for pick up and delivery.
Vasilarakis is planning to write and publish his first book at the beginning of next year, called “Let’s Cook Greek.” The book will be a memoir of his life as an executive chef and restaurant owner, and will also be a cookbook featuring some of his favorite Greek recipes, he said.
Vasilarakis also prides himself and his family on how hard they work to make Opa Greek Restaurant as great as it can be, and looks forward to connecting with the Hamilton community even more.
Opa Greek Restaurant is located at 3817 Crosswicks Hamilton Square Rd. The restaurant is open seven days a week, from 11 a.m to 9 p.m Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m to 10 p.m on Fridays and Saturdays and from 11 a.m to 9 p.m on Sunday.
For more information or to order online visit the Opa website or call (609) 438-9941 to place an order for delivery or pick up.
